Swiss Alps and Hot Coffee
by Hester Golem
Summary: Percy has found his sanctuary but what happens when an old friend unexpectedly pops back into his life. Will it bring chaos or a solution to deeper problems that he didn't even imagine he had? Percy/Oliver, Perciver, MxM, slash.


A/N: Hello all! Been a while since I published a story, but I have an assignment due so I thought what the hey? I'll write a procrastory! So here we are. This is chapter 1 and hopefully there will be more! Disclaimer: I don't own any of the things, J. K Rowling owns all the things.

On to the story:

Percy Weasley sighed as he pinched the bridge of his slightly-longer-than-average nose. There were some days when he asked himself, _what the hell am I doing here?_ Today was one of _those_ days. After the war, Percy needed a break from London, the Ministry and even his family to some extent. He visited them as often as his mental health would allow him but he found the only way he could function 'normally' a term which here means not seeing the faces of the dead everywhere you turn, was if he kept his distance from the memories.

That is how he ended up here; in a small town in the Swiss Alps where the mountains curved around him like a protective wall and they only sometimes reminded him of the smouldering towers of the Battle of Hogwarts.

He had found his sanctuary.

The town, thankfully, was a wizarding community of around 1200 people. The news of the war had of course reached even this small town but they knew very little about the people involved, aside from Voldermort and the Golden Trio. Percy was glad for the privacy.

A sanctuary that was not supposed to be interrupted by anyone.

Percy kept a small but cosy house with a large field out the back where he kept one cow and a recently acquired lamb. A love of animals was something Percy had recently discovered. He had never felt particularly interested in any of the pets that his family had kept while he was growing up, but when his neighbour offered him a cow from his herd he found himself fascinated by the animal and accepted the offer with excitement. Her name was Frida, she was brown all over with white socks and she loved to eat Percy's hedges, much to Percy's dismay.

That is where Percy found himself at this particular moment as he was trying to get Frida to let go of a small shrub before she ripped it right out of the ground.

"You silly girl! Stop that at once!" Percy told her off sternly.

Frida took no notice and continued to munch away, devouring the shrub that Percy had planted only the week before.

He was contemplating using magic to levitate her away from the shrubs but Frida had a track record of being spooked by magic and he didn't want to upset her.

When Percy had finally got her to move on, the shrub had been nibbled down to a bare stalk and he was at his wit's end.

Of course, this was the perfect moment for an old friend to, quite literally, pop back into Percy's life.

With a loud crack, the wizard apparated in front of the quaint little cottage and casually walked up to the painted green door. He knocked twice, very loudly.

Percy heard the sound of the apparition and was already on his way to the door.

He pulled the brass doorknob back to reveal a very tall, muscular man with dark brown hair and soft eyes.

"Oliver? Merlin's beard, what are you doing here?" Percy was taken aback, hardly anyone outside of his family knew where he lived now and he hadn't seen Oliver since the war.

His head filled with memories from the war and he shook his head slightly to clear it.

"Percy, it's good to see you too." Oliver joked, his eyes smiling for his mouth.

"Sorry, it's just such a shock to see you here. How did you know I lived here?" Percy questioned him, rather than inviting him inside.

"I mentioned in passing to George that I hadn't seen you in a while and that I would like to catch up, he told me you had moved to Switzerland of all places." Oliver replied while slowly inching his way inside, taking no notice of Percy's lack of invitation.

Finally, Percy realised that talking inside might be better than awkwardly standing at the door so he stood to the side and let Oliver in.

They made their way to the kitchen, where Percy enchanted the kettle to make them some coffee and he led Oliver over to the living room to continue their conversation.

"Hmmm, coffee not tea?" Oliver asked inquisitively.

"Yes, I prefer coffee. Sorry, would you like some tea instead?" Percy offered politely.

"No no, I like coffee. I just always had you pegged as a tea-kind-of-guy."

"Why?"

"I guess it's because tea is so proper and you seem so proper. It makes sense."

"I'm not as 'proper' as everyone believes I am. Besides, coffee tastes better in my opinion."

The steaming mugs of hot coffee drifted over their heads to rest gently on the coffee table in front of them. Percy picked up his cup and held it with both hands, warming them up and pressing the rim to his lips.

Oliver watched him as he did, feeling something inside him flutter as his cheeks coloured slightly. He lifted his own mug to his lips and avoided Percy's gaze. This was no time to let _those_ feelings resurface.

After Percy had had his first sip he sighed, cleared his throat slightly and continued with his questions from before.

"So why did you want to catch up so badly that you would come all the way over here?"

Oliver finally managed to meet Percy's eyes.

"I missed you Perce. It has been 8 years since the war and I haven't seen you for 5 of those." Oliver said this with a deep sincerity which made Percy's breath catch.

He smiled at the use of his old nickname, nobody called him that any more.

"I know. I'm sorry, I should have tried harder to keep in touch but every time I thought of flooing or owling you all the memories of the war came back to me. I was afraid that seeing you would hurt too much." Percy hadn't been this honest about the war for years and it hurt.

Oliver gave Percy a concerned look that made his heart clench a little. He never realised how much Oliver cared about him. He always thought that Oliver had forgotten him, moved on with his life and found happiness without him. Percy wondered if he had gotten married but he glanced at Oliver's left hand to find there was no ring to be seen. _A girlfriend then_ he thought glumly.

"Oh Perce, I had no idea the war had affected you so badly. I wish you had told me, I would have been there for you, I might have been able to help." Oliver gave Percy a sad look which made him feel guilty for not trying to reach out to Oliver.

"I wish I had gone to you." Percy practically whispered those words to his lap.

Oliver, who had been sitting on the armchair, came over to the couch and sat down next to him.

He lifted his head and pulled him into a warm hug.

They stayed like that for a few moments before Oliver drew back to look into Percy's eyes.

"I'm always here for you. You have to know that." Oliver promised before reaching up to brush away some stray locks of red hair from the other wizard's eyes.

The touch left Percy's head spinning and the spot where Oliver touched his forehead tingled.

Oliver reluctantly let Percy go before looking down at his watch to check the time.

"I've got to go, I've reserved a room at a hotel nearby and I need to check in before they close."

"You're staying?" Percy asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Only until Sunday." Oliver replied, standing up and heading for the door.

Percy walked him there and opened the door for him.

"Thank you for the coffee, are you busy tomorrow? I was hoping we could do some more catching up. It has been 5 years, after all." Oliver asked, masking his raw hope that Percy would say yes.

"That sounds wonderful. I'll send you an owl tonight to let you know when I'm free."

"Excellent, speak to you later." Oliver said his farewells and with a loud crack, he was gone.

Percy stood at the door for some time after Oliver's departure, trying to convince himself that what just happened was real and he was not dreaming.

By the time he regained himself and went back inside, his coffee was cold.

To Be Continued...


End file.
